I want to talk a moment about the God who sees.
The God who sees.
I think it is most unfortunate that mothers are only seen on Mother's Day.
And beyond that, I think it is most unfortunate that we highlight and spotlight motherhood
as we ought.
But what about the woman who cannot conceive?
What about the woman who has had multiple miscarriages?
What about the mother whose child has died?
What about the mothers whose children have broken their hearts and not even called them
because they don't even know where they are?
Or what about the mother with toddlers who are struggling just to keep her head above
water because nobody sees you?
Nobody sees you cleaning toilets.
Nobody sees you cooking.
Nobody sees you changing dirty diapers.
And after a while, you get so wrapped up in being somebody's mother, somebody's Uber
driver, somebody's satellite guide.
Somebody's phone book that you don't even remember that you used to have a brain.
You went to college.
You studied your lesson.
You were a woman before you were a mother.
You could think, you could dress yourself.
But now all you are is something to somebody else and you rarely, if ever, seen.
As a mother, you are nothing but hands to your children.
Can you hand me this?
Can you open this?
Can you untie this?
Can you tie that?
Don't forget you have to pick me up at 4.30.
And so for the rest of your afternoon over into the night, you are somebody's driver.
You're somebody's cook.
You're somebody's cleaning lady.
You're somebody's sex object.
Because nobody sees you.
Sometimes it gets so bad that you're on the phone and they are pulling on you and talking
to you and you're just trying to have a moment's peace and you have to say to them, can't you
see I'm doing something?
Can't you see I'm on the phone?
Can't you see I'm trying to take a nap?
Can't you see how tired I am?
Because nobody sees you.
But I need to say this before I get into this little sermon, that the highest achievement
of womanhood is not marriage nor even motherhood.
The highest achievement of womanhood is seeing the God who sees you.
I want you to get this.
I'm trying to move into the text.
But I want you to get this.
Hagar is the only person in the Bible who gives God a name.
Hagar is the only person, man or woman in all of scripture who calls God by a name.
Abraham named the place where God met his need.
Jacob named the place where God met his need.
Hagar names God.
All the names of God are associated with places where God met needs.
Jehovah Jarrah.
Jehovah Sid Canoe.
Jehovah Shalom.
Jehovah Nisi.
All of those names of God are places where God met needs.
But Hagar names God.
El Roa.
God who sees me.
Walk with me around the text.
Hagar is caught in a love triangle between Abraham and his wife, Sarah, because Abraham's
wife has been unable to conceive.
And at the age of 75, God promised him that his seed could not be numbered.
Now here he is, 86, and Sarah has not conceived.
And so, Sarah says to him, why don't you take my Egyptian girl, my slave girl, my maid,
Hagar, go into her and maybe I can have children by her.
When?
This old man, this young girl, and his wife is with it.
His wife encourages it.
Abraham says, you ain't saying nothing but a word.
She goes in to Hagar and Hagar conceives.
And when Hagar can have a baby for Abram, she looks at Sarah and says, I got something
you don't have.
You got a ring, but I got a baby.
And the Bible says she despises her mistress.
And then, Sarah says to Abram, you got to get rid of this gal, because I don't like
how she's looking at me.
I don't like her tone.
I don't like her attitude.
She don't answer me like she used to answer.
She don't come right away when I call her like she used to.
It looked like she got her attitude, so one of us got to go.
Sarah must have been a black woman.
You got a choice, Mr. Abraham.
Her army.
Abram said, that's your slave girl.
You told me to go in there and have my way.
Do what you please.
And they run her off.
Hagar is caught in Abram and Sarah's mess, because what they are trying to do is what
many of us try to do, and that's run ahead of God to get blessings that he didn't intend.
And now, because you did not wait on God, you're in a mess.
Because you ran ahead of God's plan for your life.
You've messed up.
You've short circuited your own destiny.
And Hagar is dismissed, put out.
But notice how they refer to her.
They never hardly call her by name.
They call her that Egyptian woman, that slave girl, that maid.
They hardly ever call her by name, because she is a pawn.
She is somebody to be used.
She is just to be used for this infertile couple.
She's just there as an instrument.
She's just there almost like a piece of furniture.
She's a nobody, because they always refer to her not by who she is, but by what she
can be.
That Egyptian, that slave girl, that maid.
And they call her by her appellations, because her name would mean she's significant.
And everybody in here this morning, every woman particularly in here this morning, wants
to be seen.
Not for hips or shape or face or hair or thighs, but a woman wants to be seen, not for
what she is, but for who she is.
In certain Zulu areas of South Africa, people do not greet each other by saying hello or
good morning or good afternoon or good evening.
They greet one another with the phrase, sa wubona.
Sa wubona in Zulu, sa wubona means I see you.
Not hello.
Not good morning.
Not how, not how you're doing, but I see you.
Sa wubona.
And the response to sa wubona is shiboka, which means I would not exist if you didn't
see me.
People want to be seen.
People need to be seen, because to be seen is to be significant.
To be seen is to be safe.
Because when somebody sees you, when somebody sees you, they are acknowledging your personhood.
They are acknowledging that you have needs.
You have desires.
You have a mind.
You're not just a cook.
You're not just a chauffeur.
You're not just a sex object.
You're not just an Uber driver.
You're not just somebody to clean up behind somebody, but you are so significant that
I see you when you don't think I'm looking at you.
And then when you are seen and when you are significant, you feel safe.
You feel loved.
You feel adored.
You feel cherish for something other than somebody to be used.
They used Hagar.
Sarah did it.
Abram did it.
They used her.
And that was ungodly.
Remember brothers and sisters, godly people can do some ungodly things.
And Hagar is suffering because of the ungodliness of two godly people.
She does not deserve her suffering.
And god takes her suffering and redeems it.
And I want to tell some mother in here, some father in here, some Christian in here who's
going through or have been through or about to go through some pain.
God will not waste your pain.
God will take your suffering and turn it into joy.
God will take your sorrow and turn it into laughter.
God will take your misery and turn it into peace.
God will take your struggle and turn it into strut.
God will take what's going on bad in your life and turn it into good for all things.
I wish I had a Bible reader.
All things work together for good to them that love God and to those who are the called
according to his purpose.
I need somebody in here this morning who's been through it.
And now you're on the other side of it and you're looking back on it and now you got
to testify it was nobody but Jesus.
I almost lost my mind but the Lord kept me.
I almost gave up hope but God put his arms around me.
It looked like I would never come out of it but here I am this morning because I have
a God who sees me.
And beloved you may not see him but he sees you.
I wish I had a witness.
He sees you down sitting.
He sees you uprising.
He sees when your heart is broken.
He sees when you can't see your way.
He sees when you've been slandered and lied on.
He sees when you're broken and wounded.
He sees when you can't seem to make it another week.
He sees when you're tired.
He sees when you're broken.
He sees you.
You.
You see you and me at the same time and don't get us mixed up.
He sees you when you're crying and nobody knows it.
He sees it when you're hurting but you laugh to keep from crying.
He sees you when you're on your knees asking him for just a one more day of strength.
He sees you when you look like you're not going to be able to get yourself together.
He sees you when you get dressed up on the outside but you're torn up on the inside.
He sees you when you're frightened.
He sees you when you're scared.
He sees you when you can't understand yourself.
He sees you.
And so why should I feel discouraged?
Why should the shadows come?
Why should my heart be long and long for heaven and home?
When Jesus is my push, a constant friend is he.
Jesus is on the sparrow and I'm not guessing about it.
I'm not doubting it.
I'm not diffident about it.
No.
I wish I had somebody to help me.
I know he's watching me.
I know he sees me.
I know he loves me.
Jesus loves me.
This I know because the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong.
They are weak but he is strong.
Jesus loves me.
Here she is.
She's gone off by Abram and Sarai.
She's out in the wilderness by herself afraid alone.
Called everything but her name.
That Egyptian.
That slave.
That maid.
Here she is alone.
But in her despair, in her loneliness, God sees.
God comes to her and says, where you going?
Where you coming from?
And not only does Hegar, is Hegar the only person in the Bible who gives God a name.
She's had the longest conversation with God than any woman, almost any man in the scripture.
She said, I'm running away from my mistress.
And God says to her, go back to your mistress and obey.
Get back under her command because your mistress ain't taking care of you.
Abram is not taking care of you.
I will take care of you.
Somebody don't help me talk it.
Your job is not taking care of you.
No man is taking care of you.
God got his eyes on you.
You want to know why you look so good in your 70s?
God is taking care of you.
You want to know how you were able to raise your children by yourself?
God is taking care of you.
You want to know how you still in your house and other folk who don't have as much as you
have can hardly make it.
You want to know how you're still doing well and people thought you'd been way under by
now.
God is taking care of you.
Somebody says go back.
Submit yourself to your mistress.
God taught Haggar some things that he's teaching us this morning.
And what God taught Haggar is what I want to help us to understand this morning, that
that is a certainty connected with God's eyesight.
It's called theologically amnesia.
Amnesia means that God is in full possession of total knowledge.
God knows everything.
The Greeks said or called him Phaos.
That's God's person.
God personally knows everything.
And then God's presence is another word.
It's omnipresence.
Not only does God know everything.
He knows everything not just because of who he is, but he knows everything because of
where he is.
He's everywhere at the same time.
And the everywareness of God.
That's not a word.
I just made it up.
The everywareness of God is that God cannot not be everywhere.
Because he sees everything everywhere at the same time.
His omniscience means that God cannot not know.
His omnipresence means that God cannot be in Houston and not be in Hawaii.
Because he's everywhere at the same time.
But then his everywareness, his omnipresence that falls into his omniscience unfolds into
his omnipotence.
Not only does he know everything and not only is he everywhere, but he can do anything.
Because his omnipotence means he has all power.
Not only who he is and where he is, but we know that God certainly can see us because
of what he does.
He's constantly looking out for us.
That word sees is in the present tense.
Meaning that God doesn't just look at you and then look away.
Here's the shout.
Due to the frailty of my human construction, if I'm talking to one person, I cannot talk
to another person at the same time because I have to unsee who I was previously looking
at.
But the way God sees is he can see everybody at the same time and talk to you as if you
were the only person on earth.
As a matter of fact, if you were the only you alive, he would have sent Jesus to die
just for you.
Because God loves you just that much.
God is interested in you just that much.
I hope sometimes after church when I'm down here shaking hands, I hope I'm not offended
by the offensive to people because sometimes people who want to talk to me and I praise
God for that, I love being down here among the people because I believe shepherds ought
to smell like sheep.
I love getting around and getting into congregation and I would stay down here to shake hands
with every person who wants to shake my hand.
But I can't talk to two people at a time.
And then if you want to talk to me and other people are in the line to shake my hand and
to greet me and I want to greet them, I can't have a 15 minute conversation with you.
Because I do not like talking to one person and then somebody else is on the side of me
and I'm ignoring that person because I think it's rude for me to ignore somebody I was
just talking to and you pulling on me trying to get my attention.
And God bless you.
I appreciate that.
I want to hear what you have to say.
And let me quit hearing what they just said.
And then I can hear what you have to say because I can't deal with two people at the same time
because it would be rude for me to turn my back on one and not talk to that one.
But God can talk to both of us at the same time because he's just that kind of God.
God is not limited by time or space.
God is not limited because three people or four people or two million people want to
talk to him at the same time.
He can hear your faintest cry.
And he'll answer.
Bye and bye.
And then here's another thing.
People want to ask me a question on Sunday and I'm full of the spirit after I get through
preaching.
And you will ask me something that you want to do or something you want me to do and I
will gladly say I'm all over it.
I'm going to do it.
That's already done.
Don't believe anything I just told you.
The only time you can believe me on Sunday is when I'm preaching.
And when I'm down here I'm just trying to get to the next hand to shake and go on about
my business because I don't believe none of that.
That's not true.
I'm just telling the truth when I'm preaching.
I don't remember that as soon as I get in the car.
But God remembers.
God hears your prayers.
God answers your supplication and God will never tell you something that he will not
do.
He promised that I will never leave you nor forsake you.
That's the certainty of God's omnipotence.
That's the certainty of God's omnipresence.
That's the certainty of God's omniscience.
But then not only is there a certainty to how God sees us.
There's a consequence to how he sees us.
God knows me and you personally.
He knows what you have on.
He knows what you're going to eat when you leave here.
He knows what you're going to do tonight before you go to bed.
He knows what you're going to do tomorrow before you even go to work.
He knows when you're going to put gas in your car.
He knows what kind of shoes you're going to wear.
He knows what kind of food you like to eat.
He knows how much money is in your account.
He knows who's on your Facebook page.
He knows who you're looking at on Twitter.
He knows everything about you personally.
He knows how many hairs are on your head.
And when you comb your hair, some hair falls out.
And you got to start counting all over again.
And if God loves you enough to count hairs on your head, not only does he know you personally,
but he knows you perfectly.
He knows your flaws.
He knows your imperfections.
He knows the things about you that's wrong and crooked.
He knows your habits.
He knows how quirky you can be sometimes.
He knows how sometimes you are when you don't get your way.
He knows how mean you can be.
He knows how stubborn you are.
He knows the words that you say.
He knows how you look at somebody and smile, but in your heart you're saying, girl, I can't
stand this guy.
He knows that Sunday look from that Friday look.
He knows everything about you personally and perfectly, and he still loves you.
Listen to this.
I'm almost done.
Listen to this.
Most people can't stand you on hearsay.
But God loves you with perfect information.
Some folks don't like you just looking at you.
They just don't like how you look.
You don't look like somebody they would like.
They don't know your name.
They don't know anything about you.
They don't know your background.
They don't know what you've been through.
They don't know what you're up against.
They just look at you and say, she sure looked arrogant to me.
He sure looked mean to me.
They don't even know you.
They know nothing about you, and they despise you on what they don't know.
God loves you with what he does know.
So if somebody loves me and knows everything about me, you think I care about somebody
who don't know me and don't love me?
Stop letting people circumscribe you into the little faults and definitions of you.
God loves you.
God made you in His image.
He knows you personally.
He knows you perfectly.
Then He knows you persistently.
God just keeps on seeing you.
When your children are out of your sight, you can't see them.
But God sees them.
You are never out of range of God's eyesight.
God sees you.
This word and I'm through.
This certainty and this consequence gives us comfort.
I was a student at Bishop College, a freshman at Bishop College, and Dr. Harry Wright, who
was Dean of the Chapel, Carpy Collins Chapel at Bishop, and Dr. John Mangrum, Professor
of Homo Lettics at Bishop College.
Dr. Harry Wright and Dr. Mangrum were sitting together in the Union Building having lunch.
I had met them.
I'd been in Dr. Mangrum's class.
I took Christianity 101 from Dr. Harry Wright.
I knew them, just seeing them in person, admired them.
They were seated at the lunch table, and I knew that that conversation would be too deep
for me.
So I sat over there where people in my depth sat.
Because even as a young preacher, I knew my place.
I knew not to get in that deep water, because whatever they were going to talk about was
too deep for my little finite, infinitesimal mind.
But I overheard their conversation.
And Dr. Wright said to Dr. Mangrum, John, what is it about God that terrifies you?
And Dr. Mangrum didn't stop eating.
He looked at Dr. Wright and he said, Harry, the same thing about God that terrifies me
is the same thing about God that makes me love Him.
And Dr. Wright said, what is it, John, what is it about God that terrifies you and makes
you love Him at the same time?
Dr. Mangrum said, His eyesight.
His eyesight terrifies me.
But His eyesight also makes me love Him.
He sees everything that terrifies me.
He sees everything that makes me love Him.
Somebody ought to help me close here.
When Abram and Sarai put Haggar out and left her with a child to die, in chapter 16, God
sees.
I'm through, but in chapter 21, God hears.
Because Haggar has taken Ishmael and put him under a tree to die.
And she's weeping, and God not only sees her, but he hears her.
And then God says, Haggar, what's healing you?
She said, me and my boy are out here by ourselves, and we're about to die.
I left him out there under the tree, and he's going to die first.
And I can't stand to be where he is to watch him die.
And then the Bible says, watch this, God opened her eyes.
Because not only does God see you, He wants you to see Him.
And when you see Him, it changes your life.
When you see Him, when you open your eyes, when you let your pride go, when you let your
ego aside, when you stop acting like you can make it by yourself, when you realize that
it was nobody but God who was keeping you all the time, when you open your eyes and
see that you didn't graduate because you were so smart.
You didn't get a job because you were so talented.
You didn't keep yourself in a foreign country because you were so intelligent.
It was nobody but God.
And if you're sensitive for just a minute, look in the rear view mirror of your life
and see where you came from and see where you are right now.
And if you don't shout something wrong with you, if you can't be grateful, if you can't
be thankful, just ask God for just a minute, open my eyes.
And God opened Hagar's eyes and she called God El Rui.
I have seen the God who sees me.
He sees you so much.
He hears you so much that He knows what you need before you ask Him.
He's already handled it before it even comes in your life.
He's already taken care of it before you even realize that you have a need in the first
place.
But the greatest need of every last one of us is a saviour.
And so before we knew we even needed to be saved, He sent Jesus to the cross.
To die in our place, to be raised for our justification.
And right now He's seated on the right hand of God with power, and He ever lives to make
intercession for us.
H scared of Adimeān yīz früher than Him but under His presence.